4 Cheap & Easy DIY Halloween Costume Hacks

Need a last-minute Halloween costume?

Never mind the pricey pre-made store-bought costumes that stores have on their shelves. Here's our tutorial for making five fun, creative and absolutely easy DIY Halloween costume ideas with the most affordable materials imaginable.

These DIY ideas all work well for adults or for kids, and even for last minute get-ups for trick-or-treating, cosplay or spooky Halloween party events.

Trick or Cheap!

With an X-acto knife, cut holes for a head and arms out of a cardboard box. Duct tape the sides and flaps in place.

Wrap the box with sun shade, as if you were wrapping a present. Hot glue the flaps down. With the X-acto knife, cut out the arm and head holes.

Take a plastic basket and cut the bottom ridge off. Wrap it with the other sun shade, letting the bottom edge hang a couple of inches past the bottom of the basket. Trace the top circumference and cut a circle for the top. Hot glue everything in place.

Create buttons, eyes and panels with duct tape on a piece of wax paper. Trace circles for the eyes and cut out the middle so the wearer can see.

Duct tape several strips of sun shade to the arms and pant legs.

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Cut the insulation foam into 1/2-inch rounds.

Split half of them at the perforation line and leave the other half in their intact rounds. Link them together, alternating whole rounds and split rounds. Glue the split rounds together again.

Make a long linked chain.

Pair with a black cape and a spooky mask and drape the chain loosely around the costume wearer's neck.

Remove the stem from the flower and cut the plastic connector off the back of the flower. From the inside, hot glue the petals together so the inner flowers don't fall out.

Hot glue flowers and leaves to the front of a shirt and skirt. If you have the time and enough flowers to do the back, this is an option as well, but start on the front just in case you run out of flowers or time.

Add a flower and a couple of spritzes of perfume to your hair, and it's a party.

Unwrap the skein of yarn and spread it widthwise, leaving the loops intact. Sew the loops to a ribbon or piece of fabric by hand or machine. Make three or four ribbon lengths that fit around your child's body.

Take plastic whiffle balls and cover them with air dry clay. Paint the balls brown with craft paint and a sponge brush.

Tape meatballs to the noodles with double stick tape. Fasten the noodles to the wearer with safety pins. Cut a red bib into a red sauce shape, and the costume is complete.